Navigating uncertainty in museum workflows: genomic data mining and curation of the Diptera collections hosted at RMCA
As part of its extensive Diptera holdings, the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) houses over 100,000 specimens of Tephritidae and Syrphidae, which represent a critical resource for taxonomic and systematic research. Here, we present a feasibility study evaluating streamlined workflows for genomic data mining and archiving in museum collections. We analysed DNA yield, quality and sequencing performance from more than 1,400 insect vouchers and found few predictable trends, reflecting the nature of heterogeneous and skewed groups of samples collected under largely unknown field conditions. Regardless, our results show that Illumina short read whole genome sequencing can work well even with degraded insect material. In this context, routine short-read sequencing offers a practical first step for genomic data mining, particularly for large collections. It enables us to reserve more complex and resource-intensive methods for the subset of samples that fail initial sequencing (7% of specimens, in our case). As an outcome of this work, RMCA's archiving system has been adapted to integrate genomic data and metadata alongside traditional specimen records. We argue that genomic data should be treated as an integral component of collection management, enhancing scientific value, supporting long term preservation and improving traceability of genetic resources in natural history collections.
Authors
- Ramadhani Majubwa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0125-1867)
- Sija Kabota (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0842-6893)
- Franck Theeten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0626-538X)
- Hélène Delatte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5216-5542)
- Didier Van den Spiegel
- Laura Canhanga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5796-210X)
- Abdul Kudra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9571-5566)
- Aruna Manrakhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2954-4450)
- Carl Vangestel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1024-8213)
- Massimiliano Virgilio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1323-6886)
- Marc De Meyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0755-2898)
- Pia Addison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8227-339X)
- Luis Bota (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5392-0554)
- Sam Vanbergen
- D. Cugala
- Kurt Jordaens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4321-5944)
- Jacqueline Bakengesa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5621-7215)
- Jean-Marc Herpers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4714-8048)
- Beatriz Daniel
- Maulid Mwatawala
- Lore Esselens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0454-7663)
- Mirene Mussumbe
Institutions
- Royal Museum for Central Africa (BE)
- Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR)
- Eduardo Mondlane University (MZ)
- Stellenbosch University (ZA)
- Institute of Natural Sciences (BE)
- Ghent University Hospital (BE)
- The University of Dodoma (TZ)
- Citrus Research International (ZA)
- National Directorate of Geology (MZ)
- Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (MZ)
- Sokoine University of Agriculture (TZ)
- KU Leuven (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Biodiversity Data Journal
- Published
- 2025-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.13.e157274
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.84
Funders
- Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
- Uppsala Universitet
- Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme